Differential Lube

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whturner
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Differential Lube

Post by whturner »

I notice that most modern differentials use a lower weight lube than the older cars (250 wt or so for both my 330 and '47 Ford. Is this because of better grease formulation? And if so, would we be better off switching to the modern 80 - 90 wt lube, especially if synthetic is used, which has a much higher film strength? Or does it matter?

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Warren
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330GT
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Post by 330GT »

This brings up an interesting point. The early 330 GTs (and 250s) had 250wt oil (actually thin grease) specified for the differential.

The 1965 330 GT 8 page addendum for the owner's manual (2HL) specified Shell S 6721 A. Now weight or other information given.

Another 2HL owner emailed Shell and Ferrari customer service and got this reply from Ferrari:
Thank you for contacting us.

We would like to inform you that the lubricant originally recommended for the gear of the Ferrari 330GT 2+2 was Shell Spirax EP 90. At the present time Shell Spirax W 80 or else Agip Rotra SAE 80-90 is used in substitution.

We remain at your complete disposal for any further information or assistance you may require.

Kind regards,

Ferrari Customer Care
However, I think that they were confused and replied with the information for the transmission oil which was Shell Spirax EP 90. I think using 90wt in the differential would cause leaks and be pretty noisy. I have Penrite 250wt in mine.
Regards, Kerry
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Rudy van Daalen Wetters
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Post by Rudy van Daalen Wetters »

You can get away with 140 wt oil but be ready to clean up the leaks. I went back to the 250 wt and will stay with what the book recommends.

Rudy van Daalen Wetters
1963 GTE s/n 4001
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whturner
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Post by whturner »

I looked up Spiriax S on the Shell site - the two oils in the S product line are 75W - 90 or 80W - 140. The product code, as you can understand after all these years of development, is no longer the same. But the product specs would be for the same type of application, and the oils performance better.

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Warren
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Stephanm
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Post by Stephanm »

I noticed that modern cars even have super thin oil for manual transmissions. My Subaru has ATF in the 5-speed manual trans, and the Mercedes-Benz 300SL and other manual transmissions use the same.
I would not think that using thinner oil will make the rear axle any louder, I put 80/90 in all Ferrari axles and if they are set up properly they are quiet and do not leak. Make sure to use LSD additive when nescessary!!


Anyone ever heard of throwing in a banana peel to quiet a ring and pinion?
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tyang
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Post by tyang »

Anyone ever heard of throwing in a banana peel to quiet a ring and pinion?
Hi Stephan,

I've heard of this "shade tree" repair, and could see trying it out on a ford 8" rear end, but I hope you're not putting banana peels in Ferrari Diffs! ;-)

How about ground black pepper in the radiator to stop a coolant leak?

Tom
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afwrench
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Post by afwrench »

|I actually saw sawdust in a gearbox and rearend that helped sell the car. It was very quiet for a short period of time. A very embaressed buyer!The guy did say that the tranny shifted a bit hard on the test drive.
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PETER GABRIEL
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Post by PETER GABRIEL »

I heard, that, in Italy, they use Lasagna, for noisy difs.

Peter Gabriel

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Dr. Ian Levy
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Differential Lube

Post by Dr. Ian Levy »

Hi Mike
There are some so called reputable people in the UK who have been known to use the "sawdust" treatment.
How would you know until you came to drain the sludge?
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Ian
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Post by afwrench »

Hi Ian, we spotted it because he asked me to check the fluids . When I dipped my finger in the filler holes the muck was evident. Disassembly proved my suspicions. The trans was also shifting hard, it had more in it than the diff. He was mad as a hatter at first but put it up as a lesson learned, we laughed about it for years after. Both units worked well after being rebuilt. Mike
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Post by 330GT »

Sorry to drag the thread away from sawdust, banana skins and lasagna, but...

Since I was skeptical about the 90wt recommendation for the differential, the 330 owner asked for clarification from Ferrari. Here's the recommendation from Ferrari for a 330 GT w/5 speed transmission:
Thank you for contacting us.

As regards your kind request, we would like to inform you that after carrying out our relevant checks with our competent department, Ferrari Classiche, we can confirm you that the lubricant originally recommended for the gear was Shell Spirax EP 90. At the present time Shell Spirax W 80 or else Agip Rotra SAE 80-90 are used in substitution.

Moreover, the lubrificant used for transmission is SPIRAX EP140.

We remain at your complete disposal for any further information or assistance you may need.

Kind regards,

Ferrari Customer Care
I shudder thinking about how much mine would leak with 90wt instead of the 250wt I have in it.
Regards, Kerry
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Rudy van Daalen Wetters
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Post by Rudy van Daalen Wetters »

90wt in one of our Ferrari differentials? That's called a sieve.

Rudy van Daalen Wetters
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1966 330 GT s/n 8705
whturner
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Post by whturner »

It seems that the definition of 90 wt, 140 wt and so forth, is being overlooked. For example, a 250 wt gear oil will, when it heats up, thin out to be the same viscosity as a 90 wt sitting in your garage at "room" temperature. I would bet the 250 wt oil recommended for the earlier cars was thinner (as the car circulated at LeMans and heated up) than the 80/90 or 140 wt oil Ferrari is recommending for the street.

Cheers
Warren
330 GT Series II sn 10069
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